Artfire vs Etsy vs ?

I've been browsing the sign up info for the online shops of Etsy and Artfire. Artfire appears to be a bit easier to get the whole procedure accomplished. It has a monthly fee with no other fees involved with listing or purchases, whereas Etsy has both. Etsy seems a bit too "full of themselves". The actual storefront you would end up with is certainly more attractive on Artfire. As well as easier to get it that way!

But, maybe I could just list some things here on the blog, with prices, information on how to pay...call with card info, check, etc. Has it been done before? Would it work? I don't even know if anyone even looks at this. So probably not.

This weekend is the last Farmers market...being held indoors on the floor of the US Cellular Coliseum, downtown Bloomington. 10am to 1pm. Lots of fun, come on by.

These pieces above are the latest things made and photographed. Trying some hints from Etsy on photography, and I think I'll stick to my own method! And I do not understand the photo of the coneflower leaf being screwed up...wasn't that way before I uploaded it!?

Bronzclay Class #4

This Saturday at the Bead Parlor, 318 N. Main St., Bloomington, IL, will be the fourth class for making Bronzclay jewelry. It is already full! If there continues to be an interest, I can add classes in December...so let me know!

It's been so great to relax a bit, having the majority of the art fairs over with. Especially the every weekend trips to here and there. Nice to sleep in Saturday mornings! I'm still considering what to do with shows, etc. next year...haven't come to a conclusion yet.

The show schedule for the remainder of the year has been updated, and we added a promising Christmas event during December at the Madden Arts Center in downtown Decatur. More information on that in late November.

The downtown Bloomington Farmers Market has a Thanksgiving Market to be held at the Coliseum, 10am to 1pm. There is a great breakfast using the farmers produce and meat to be held in the Coliseum Corn Palace restaurant prior to the market, and allows early shopping on the ice rink floor, before 10am.

http://www.facebook.com/notes/downtown-bloomington-farmers-market-and-artists-alley/enjoy-a-great-farm-to-table-breakfast-and-support-your-farmers-market/10150931209270438

We hope to see you all there!

PS don't know why the photo of the bracelet looks so strange, but you can get the idea!!!

Another Bronzclay class coming up...

I have scheduled a class in using the Bronzclay to make jewelry pendants, components, or whatever you want to make, on November 12th at the Bead Parlor, 318 N. Main St, Bloomington, IL 61701. You can check online at www.thebeadparlor.com for more information.

The last class had seven students, 3 from the Chicago suburbs! A busy afternoon that was! Each person created several outstanding pieces. I am always amazed at the creativity of people who have never tried using a metal clay before.

One of the students expressed a desire to learn how to make texture plates using the photopolymer plates. I've been using Solar Plates, which can be purchased from Dick Blick. These things are much easier to use than the plates from Boxcar Press or from Rio Grande jewelry supply. They also stand up to use and time with no curling or cracking.

Only 2 more Farmers Markets left for the outdoor downtown season. There will be the Thanksgiving Market held indoors at the Bloomington Coliseum on November 19th. I also will be taking some pieces in to the McLean County Art Center for the annual Holiday Treasures show November 11 - January 7.

Apple 'n Pork Festival

This weekend we'll set up at the annual festival in Clinton, IL. This originally started over 40 years ago as a local festival featuring what else...locally grown apples and pork, and the many food specialties made from them. Local organizations have booths providing their specialty food and make darn good profits from this heavily attended event. This takes place on the grounds of the C.H. Moore Homestead, a beautifully restored mansion on the north edge of Clinton, which has many ties to Abraham Lincoln. The small fine art fair is located on the east side of the mansion, which is where we're situated. Steve will have his leather booth too! Other artists will bring pottery, porcelain pottery, watercolor, oil paintings, wood turning, photography, and fabric art. We all hope you will attend!

Due to the numerous other events all along Center St, and at the Antique and Craft malls on the West side of town, this is a HUGE event. Early arrival will make for a more pleasant day, due to finding a good parking place. I would recommend driving in on old Rt. 51 from the north, to the nursing home parking grounds just north of the mansion. If that is full, return to "new" 51 and drive south to the intersection of Rt 54, where the high school will have shuttle buses driving out to the mansion all day.

This is our last outdoor weekend event for this year. Finally! October has the farmers market/artists alley each Saturday morning, then we are finished with the weekly shows.

Thanks for visiting my booth over this past year.

The top photo will be shown on the Bead Parlor website, www.thebeadparlor.com, as the class photo for the Bronze Clay class on October 8th, 1:30 to 4pm at the Bead Parlor, 318 N. Main St, Bloomington, IL. Contact me or Di at the Bead Parlor (you can purchase the class online). Limited seats.

Arts in Central Park

This weekend we'll be taking part in the annual Arts in Central Park, downtown Decatur, IL. Our booth is #46 which appears to be along the sidewalk in the south east corner of the park, junction of Park and Franklin Streets.

http://www.decaturarts.org/event/301/arts-in-central-park-1/

This is our second year here. We were happy with the friendly and helpful coordinators and the great treatment of the artists. It was also very nice to receive an award here last year, 3rd in Jewelry! So we are looking forward to it, very cool weather and hopefully dry. There's a great Preview Party Friday evening, with great food, music, and hopefully sales!

I've had a few comments from people that wonder about my wanting to retire from the jewelry shows. I do still love making bronze and silver components, etc. It's just that I am supremely tired of the art show life. I've never enjoyed the actual part of getting ready for, traveling to, setting up the booth for, standing and selling (hopefully) during, tearing down the booth, and finally traveling home from an art fair. Even more, I hate searching for profitable shows, having jury photos taken or taking them myself, entering the shows either online or by mail, learning how to impress the juries for the art show to increase my chances of acceptance, paying out some very large jury fees, and, if accepted, very large booth fees. Then, do I actually make any kind of profit? Not much.

So, I am really ready for something different. Maybe an online shop at Etsy; consignment or wholesale; or just not do it at all. Time will tell................

Maybe, if anyone reads this, they will have some suggestions???

Lincoln Art & Balloon Festival

We'll be returning to the 38th Annual Lincoln Art Fair in Latham Park, downtown Lincoln, this weekend. Around 80 artists are setting up around the park. The festival also highlights hot air balloons from around the country, stationed and lifting off from the airport. There will be a wine tasting event, and a barbecue cook-off at the downtown location. This link will take you to their program, http://www.lincolnillinois.com/Documents/ABF_Program_Guide.pdf.

The Economy

As we all know, the national economy has been quite slow for a few years. It has been evident in my sales at the Farmers Market/Artist Alley for the past 3 years. I take home around 70 to 80% less each day (with a few exceptions) than I used to. Although it is still very nice to tear down at 12noon, and have the rest of the weekend off. I'm really very tired of the downright hard work of setting up a booth, sitting through the slow sales period of 2 or 3 days, tearing down the booth, with a long drive home ahead of you. Consequently, I'm considering retiring from jewelry making next year. The amount of sales just isn't adding up to the amount of work we put in. We both enjoy actually making the jools, just not the hassle of trying to sell it.

I love to paint. I paint miniature landscapes now, although have painted larger in the past. I've been entering gallery art shows geared specifically towards that niche, and have been fairly successful there, with sales at higher price points than what I would get locally. I've also been awarded 3 Best of Shows, several Peoples' Choice awards, and purchase awards. Those are such a thrill to get! The photos at top are some of my past work. The Barn Owl was posing for us on admission to the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum a few years ago. The cornfield is in Dewitt County.

So I'm thinking of just doing paintings, and exhibiting those next year on a less busy schedule. Still not sure about the jewelry though.

The "jury" is still out on all these possibilities! Stay tuned.........